Non-wine drinker but love beer; any suggestions on what brands?
Aug 2nd, 2001, 01:59 PM
#1
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Non-wine drinker but love beer; any suggestions on what brands?
Will be spending two weeks in the Languedoc and Provence areas of France. My husband and I are not wine drinkers (I know, I know) but we do like beer. How readily available is it and what brands do you suggest we try?
Aug 2nd, 2001, 02:26 PM
#2
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We have same problem, can't drink wine. It's the sulfites or sulfates, or whatever. Stops us up, instant hangover. A bummer, cause we really loved good wines. I do not know of a good French beer. I've tried a few, including a strange tasting white beer, but none have struck my fancy. But I don't claim to know it all. Far from it. <BR>If you like MGD or Heinekin, here are a few European beers that are very good in that "pilsner" category. Belgium: Jupiter, Maes, Dommelsch(sp). Luxembourg: Diekirck. Holland: Heinekin, Groelsch (avail in US). Italy: Morretti, Peroni (both avail in US). One of our favorites is Bitburger, from the German town of Bitburg. It's avail in US, but you have to hunt for it. The Czech beer Urquell is famous, and good also. <BR>I don't know if any of these will be available in your intended location. Also, if you are into the more exotic beers, can't help you there. In some restaurants, if you ask for a beer, you may get looked at strange, especially in France. This happened to us in a Rhine River restaurant famous for wines. They didn't even have any beer to serve. But most times, no one even batted an eye at our beer requests. <BR>We had fun trying each of the beers served by the various restaurants. When we asked about beer, we would say comparable to Heinikin. Or use the word pilsner. They would know what you liked, and bring a brand maybe you have not heard of. After a while, we began to recognize the brands. Bitburger is our favorite, but Moretti comes in a close second. I know these are not the most exotic beers available, but, hey, we liked them. Hope you do too. <BR>
Aug 2nd, 2001, 02:33 PM
#4
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Darlene, <BR> <BR>My wife and I are going to Provence in Septemeber and we are going there specifically for the wine. <BR> <BR>Having said that, we never liked wine either until we were in Paris a couple of years ago. We decided that when in Paris, do as the Parisians, and we asked the waiter for a bottle of red. He brought us a Cotes du Rhone, the next evenign we had a wonderful Chateuneuf du Pape ...from that point on we decided that we were no longer in search of the world's best beer....wine was good! <BR> <BR>Just suggest that while you are in Provence that you might try a nice Cotes du Rhone or Gigondas or Chateauneuf. <BR> <BR>PS Decent French beer is 1776 or 1877 or something like that. A very good pilsner.
Aug 2nd, 2001, 02:38 PM
#5
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It may sound strange, but I fell in love with Adelscott, a blonde beer blended with whisky...I do not drink grain alcohol, but it was deep, rich, amber and smooth, delicious! <BR> <BR>Kronenburg, 1669, Stella Artois and Carlsberg are found just about everywhere. (blondes) <BR> <BR>Sante! <BR>Wendy
Aug 2nd, 2001, 02:41 PM
#6
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Darlene, here's something else. We travelled through Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, and Rhineland. Many restaurants had a beer sign hanging over their door. <BR>"Bitburger," "Heinekin," etc. Kind or like Pepsi or Coke wars over here. Usually that "featured" beer is a pilsner. <BR>Also, we found that these beers were always on tap, and . . . only about 3% alcohol (opposed to 6% here). Usually served in .2 liter glasses, so about 2 1/2 glasses equalled one can of beer here alcohol wise, by my elementary math. We enjoyed many a lunch w/beer without getting so sleepy to ruin the afternoon of sightseeing. <BR>Don't know if this is the case in France, but thought I'd add the info for you.
Aug 2nd, 2001, 06:09 PM
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Darlene, <BR>Most of France's fine beers (and there are many) are brewed in the north adjacent to the Belgian border or in the area around Strasbourg. One of the larger breweries in Strasbourg produces Adlescott and a heavier version called Adelscott Noir. Both are fine and distinctive French beers. For a good dark lager, look for Pelforth's Pelforth Brune. Pelforth is owned by Heinekin. Strasbourg's Schutzenberger brewery has a strong golden lager called Jubilator. The national brewers, somewhat comparable to America's Budweiser, Miller and Coors (not in taste, but in their distribution networks) are Kronenbourg, Mutzig and Pelforth.
